EdgeNotes

Antonio Gramsci’s famous quip, about pessimism of the intellect and the optimism of the will, is well-suited to the historic failure of Leftist movements to bring about desired change. Steve Latham Slavoj Zizek has asserted that Marxism is based on learning from failure. Enzo Traverso has written about […]

I am writing this the day after Theresa May postponed the Commons vote on the proposed Brexit deal to leave the European Union. Steve Latham Anything I write will be rendered out-of-date by the time this column is published at the weekend, overtaken by the rapid turn of […]

Our part of London is sandwiched, between Kings Cross station to the north, and the new transit hub around Farringdon station to the south. Steve Latham Kings Cross has been ‘regenerated’ by massive infusions of investment, building large office blocks, including Google’s new European HQ. Property prices have, […]

In the first case of genetic engineering for a complete embryo, Chinese scientist He Jianki has successfully edited the genes of twin girls, so they cannot contract HIV. Steve Latham Although a breakthrough, the incident has also been criticised for violating ethical norms. Despite this, Harvard University Professor […]

I don’t know whether you have noticed, but the word ‘urban’ seems to have changed, if not its meaning, then its connotation. Steve Latham I grew up in a small northern former industrial town, hollowed out by the decline of the cotton mills, and then reborn as a […]